NORWALK — Amid neighborhood opposition, Norwalk zoning commissioners have approved a luxury tile flooring manufacturer’s plan to build on Oakwood Avenue an innovation center that stands to be among the “greenest” in the nation.

“Moving up from a LEED design up to a Living Building design challenge, to me, I can’t recall during my time on this commission having any building like that,” commission Chairman Nathan Sumpter said at a Monday hearing. “That, in itself, tells me that the developer, the owner and the architect, they are thinking ahead.”

Stone Realty Associates, owner of the property at 15 Oakwood Ave. intends to secure the Living Building Challenge certification from the International Living Institute, which has standards for renewable systems beyond those of the LEED Platinum label of the U.S. Green Buildings Council.

Addressing traffic concerns, Sumpter added there are other structures being built in the area “that are a lot larger.”

He and other commissioners concluded the plan complied with the city’s zoning regulations. After a public hearing, they voted unanimously to rezone the 1.75-acre parcel uniformly from AAA Residence to Business No. 2 to allow Stone Realty to build a four-story building with 15,517 square feet of office space, 3,554 square feet of research and development space and three apartments for visiting artists and designers.

More Information

Innovation Center

Living Building Challenge

4 stories

21,260 square feet

70 parking spaces

The innovation center will be for Metroflor, which has its main office there selling luxury vinyl tile flooring. The tiles will be manufactured at other locations.

More than a dozen residents, primarily from two nearby condominium complexes, attended the meeting. All those who got up to speak urged the commission to reject the plan.

Carl McIver, who lives at Seir Hill Gardens, questioned how the proposed building, given its size, would house only 25 to 30 employees. He asked commissioners to consider the aesthetics of the surrounding neighborhood, which he described as 80 percent residential and comprised largely of condominiums.

“This structure does not take into consideration the design of any of those buildings,” McIver said. “It’s as if someone decided to take a huge block … and just to stick in the middle of an area and call it ‘minimalism.’ I don’t see what’s minimalistic about that.”

Peter Halladay, who lives on Glenrock, described the proposed building as “too high for the residential area” and asked commissioners not to be overwhelmed by the “high-powered presentation” made by representatives of Stone Realty.

Stone Realty has promised the new building will be “an iconic piece of architecture and an inspiration to staff, visitors and people in the industry,” replete with a proposed rain garden, as it develops vinyl flooring to mimic the look of wood, stone tile and other materials.

“I think, perhaps, the thing that people are having difficulty getting their head around is that this is not an office building that we’re just going to build and then fill it up with as many people as possible,” said Elizabeth Suchy, the attorney representing Stone Realty Associates. “He’s not looking to just develop an office building that any tenant can come into, that any number of tenants would occupy. This is his property; it’s his company that he would like to have it all in one campus.”

Also during the meeting, the commission resumed a public hearing on a proposed 189-apartment, transit-oriented development for the East Norwalk Train Station. A vote was not taken. The commission is expected to resume its review of the plan Thursday evening.